Mechanocatalytic Solvent-Free Esterification of Sugarcane Bagasse

Abstract

Esterification is a versatile way to produce the derivatives of lignocellulose with developed properties. However, the traditional heterogeneous esterification of lignocellulose suffered from the drawbacks of low efficiency, additional reaction medium and heating. In the present study, an efficient method was developed to produce the functionalized sugarcane bagasse (SCB) by ball milling without any additional solvents and heating. The effects of pulverization time, rotation speed, the kind of linear chain anhydrides, the ratio of anhydrides to SCB, with or without pyridine catalyst and the dosage of catalyst were investigated on weight percent gain (WPG) of SCB esters. The results indicated that the high efficiency of this mechanocatalystic esterification was probably due to the destroyed crystalline structure and the promoted penetration of the esterifying reagent onto SCB bulk caused by ball milling. The maximum WPG of SCB acetate, propionate and butyrate reached 33.3%, 33.6% and 32.4%, respectively. The physicochemical structure of the esterified SCB was characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), solid state cross-polarized magic angle spinning 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (CP/MAS 13C-NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The direct evidence of the esterification occurrence was provided with FT-IR and solid-state CP/MAS 13C-NMR. The thermal stability of SCB increased upon the mechanocatalytic esterification. The results implied that the relatively homogeneous modification was achieved with this semi-homogeneous esterification method by ball milling.

A Feasible Way to Produce Carbon Nanofiber by Electrospinning from Sugarcane Bagasse

“…The T in of SCB-A increased from 272.2 to 292.2 • C along with the increasing chain length of acyl group, and the same trend can be observed from results of T 50 and T max . These results indicated that the increase in the chains of acyl groups could improve the thermostability of SCB-A, which were consistent with previous researches [31,32].…”

Milling in Seconds Accelerates Acetylation of Cellulose in Hours

“…Treated cellulose with lower crystallinity has higher activity in hydrolytic degradation. , Mechanochemically assisted esterification of lignocellulose was also reported to improve the efficiency of the heterogeneous esterification, probably due to the decrease in the crystallinity and the promoted penetration of anhydrides . This work opened the possibility of the acceleration of esterification of cellulose, while the highest efficiency stayed below 35%.…”

“…23,24 Mechanochemically assisted esterification of lignocellulose was also reported to improve the efficiency of the heterogeneous esterification, probably due to the decrease in the crystallinity and the promoted penetration of anhydrides. 29 This work opened the possibility of the acceleration of esterification of cellulose, while the highest efficiency stayed below 35%. For the practical application of the reduction of crystallinity to esterification, further advances are necessary.…”

Fabrication of polyaniline/waste sugarcane bagasse composite fillers for excellent anti-corrosion protective coatings

“…36 However, the separation and purification of cellulose from sugarcane bagasse is complex and expensive, which greatly hinders its conversion. 37,38 Inspired by the direct production of the corresponding polymer materials from sugarcane bagasse without separation, 38 a simple and effective method for the production of polyaniline composites is proposed herein.…”